Patna boy Anupam Shukla, who graduated in physics from Hindu College in New Delhi, ranked 10th in the civil services examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission, results of which were declared on Tuesday.

Kumar Ashirwad of Gopalganj district has brought laurels to the state by securing 35th rank. The civil engineer from IIT-Khargapur (2012 batch) used to teach at Pace Academy, an IIT coaching institute in Mumbai, and dreamt of become a civil servant so that he could serve the people directly. He is now all set to join the Indian Administrative Service. He owes his success to parents and teachers. Ashirwad did his schooling from Little Flower School in Jamshedpur as his father Arun Kumar Mishra was posted as chief inspector of factories there. "My son dreamt of serving society from a very young age. It was this dream that made him crack the examination in just his second attempt," said the proud father. Ashirwad had reached till the interview level in his first attempt last year. He had opted for anthropology as his optional paper for the mains exam.

Not far behind, Vivek Kumar (25), son of Virendra Singh - the JDU MLA from Nabinagar in Aurangabad district - has secured 80th position in the exam. Despite his family's political background, Vivek wanted to become an administrative officer to serve society directly. "I am a three-time MLA from Nabinagar and was once elected MP from Aurangabad, but my son never wanted to pursue my career. I am very happy with his success," Virendra said.

After finishing Class X from Birla Public School, Pilani, and Class XII from DPS RK Puram, he joined Maulana Azad Medical College to pursue MBBS.

Among other Bihar candidates who cleared the exam is a boy from Darbhanga who did electrical engineering from IIT Roorkee. Saurabh (25), who secured 142nd rank in UPSC, was working at Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL). "As the nature of my job at Sail was hectic, I chose sociology as my optional subject, relatively easier as against engineering and science subjects." Saurabh did his schooling from Holy Mission School Samastipur. His father is a retired government employee.

Vibhuti Bhushan, who did his engineering from NIT Calicut in computer science, has secured 653rd rank. After his engineering in 2012, Vibhuti joined Oracle but had no wish to pursue his career as a technocrat. "Despite being a technocrat, I opted for public administration as my optional paper as it is a high-scoring subject."

Abhishek Narayan Sinha, who ranked 392, did his schooling from a government school in Khisersarai of Gaya district. "After completing my tenth from a village school and intermediate from BN College in Patna, I joined IIT-Guwahati," he said. After that he joined a software company in Bangalore but decided to sit for the civil services exam, where his optional paper was history.

Others from Bihar include Reshav Kumar Jha (rank 162), Chandan Kumar Pandey (rank 462) and Ankit (rank 492). There could be more from the state who might have attempted from different centres.

The all-India topper was Delhi girl Tina Dabi, while railway officer Athar Aamir Ul Shafi Khan from Jammu and Kashmir ranked second. Besides them, Delhi-based Jasmeet Singh Sandhu, an Indian Revenue Service officer, has secured third position.

Tina (22), who topped the list in her first attempt, graduated from Lady Shri Ram College. A beaming Tina said: "It is indeed a proud moment for me".

Jasmeet, whose father works in Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) here, thanked his parents and teachers for his success.